Method and apparatus for laying sheet material



June 22, 1937. J. 0. STEBBINS ET AL 2,084,525

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR LAYING SHEET MATERIAL Filed NOV. 21, 1933Patented June 22, 1937 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE METHOD AND APPARATUSFOR LAYING SHEET MATERIAL tion of New Jersey Application November 21,1933, Serial No. 699,086

10 Claims. (01. 154-42) This invention relates to the laying of sheetmaterial in overlapping relationship and more particularly to methodsand apparatus for cementing overlapping edge portions of adjacent sheetsof prepared roofing or other material which upon heating becomecementitious.

One object of this invention is to provide a method and apparatus forjoining, without the use of supplementary or additional cement,contiguous marginal portions of adjacent overlapping sheets of preparedroofing or other sheet material which upon heating become cementitious.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved method andapparatus for sealing together overlapping edge portions of bitumencoated roofing sheets by the application of heat and pressure.

Another object of the invention is-to provide a heater of ruggedconstruction and simple design and which can readily be employed, evenby unskilled workmen, to soften the coating on overlapping edge portionsof adjacentsheets of prepared roofing or other sheet material therebycausing the overlapping portions of the sheets to become cementedtogether and form a continuous covering.

Other objects and advantages will appear from the following detaileddescription of this invention.

B011 roofing material, such as the usual felt base roofing saturatedwith asphalt and coated with asphalt or other bituminous material, isused in large quantities in covering roofs and other surfaces. At thepresent time, for example, such prepared roofing is finding extensiveuse as a temporary covering to protect concrete roads after pouring andto protect concrete floors in buildings during finishing operationscarried out after the floors are laid. When used for the above purposesthe roofing sheets are customarily placed in parallel rows with themarginal portions of the sheets in adjacent rows lying in overlappingand underlapping relation. Prior to this invention, it was commonpractice to seal the laps between the adjacent overlapping sheets byapplying a cement therebetween. The use of a cement, however, invariablyhad one or more disadvantages. In the first place, the application ofany type of cement to the joints necessarily involved the use ofadditional material and an increase in time and labor for laying thecovering thereby considerably increasing the cost of the installation.Moreover, in applying such sealing cements frequently some of the cementdropped on the surunited or sealed without the use of supplementarycement. In accordance with our invention, a shoe-shaped housing orheater, equipped with a suitable burner or torch, is inserted betweenthe lapped portions of the sheets and continuously and progressivelypushed along the seam by an operator who follows it. The heat emanatingfrom the heated housing softens or melts the bituminous coating on theunder side of the upper sheet and on the top side of the lower sheet. As

the operator walks along, the pressure of his feet forces the edgeportions of the overlapping sheet into contact with the overlapped edgeportions of the underlying sheet. The soft cementitious coating materialon the contacting portions of the sheets unites and forms a firm bondbetween the sheets.

For a better understanding of the invention reference should be made tothe accompanying drawing wherein is shown, by way of illustration, apreferred embodiment'of this invention and in which:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of the apparatus embodying this invention showingthe housing and fuel burner, the burner tube leading to the fuel supplyand the handle of the apparatus being broken away near the housing forthe sake of clearness;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the apparatus of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an end elevation viewing the apparatus of Fig. 2 from theright and showing the housing placed in working position between twooverlapping sheets of roofing;

Fig. 4 is a small scale pictorial view in elevation showing the mannerin which the apparatus of this invention may be employed in sealing orjoining overlapping sheets;

Fig. 5 is a small scale side elevation of a modified lap-sealingapparatus having a portable fuel supply attached to the handle thereof.

Referring to the drawing with particular reference to Figs. 1 to 3,numeral 2 indicates in general the lap-sealing or lap-cementing deviceof this invention. This device comprises a shoeshaped housing 4 havingvertical parallel side walls 6 and 1 separated from each other by arectangular block 9 near the front end of the housing. The walls andblock may be made of any durable fire resistant material, such as steel.Walls made of 4" sheet steel have been found satisfactory. A bolt l lpassing through a hole in the walls and the block, and having a nut l2tightly screwed thereon, serves as a fastening means to hold the blockand walls in fixed relation. The block is preferably of such a widththat the distance between the walls will be somewhat less than the widthof the lap between adjacent sheets of roofing.

Inside wall 6 and outside wall I are of the same general shoe shape,outside wall 1 being somewhat higher and longer than the other wall, asappears from Fig. 2. Walls 6 and I are defined respectively by straightflat bottom edges l4 and i and bevelled curved upper edges I8 and I9joining the bottom edges. Upper edges l8 and I9 are curved in such amanner that the walls rise abruptly at the front end of the housing andtaper gradually from a point near the front to the rear end as shown inFig. 2. The upper edges of both walls, as appears from Fig. 3, arebevelled from the higher side of the housing toward the lower side, i.e., from the outside of the outer wall I and from the inside of theinner wall 6, to the opposite sides of the walls, in such a manner thatboth bevelled edges lie in the same plane.

The end portion of bolt l I extending beyond the nut l2, passes througha hole near one end of a crank-shaped metal collar or handle support 2|,which is held securely in place on the bolt by a nut 22. Inserted intothe other end of the metal support is a rod 24 which serves as a handlefor pushing and guiding the housing. Due to the shape of the support 2|,the handle is positioned some distance away from the outside wall I. Bymeans of nut 22 the support and handle may be fixed in any desiredangular position with respect to the horizontal to suit the preferenceof the individual operator and to allow the operator to assume a normalwalking position.

A metal burner-tube 26 passes from the forward end of the housingthrough a hole in block 9. This tube extends horizontally midway betweenthe housing walls 6 and l and ends a short distance beyond block 9 in asuitable burner tip or orifice 30. A set screw 3| passing into a hole inthe inside wall 6 and block 9 securely holds the burner tube in placeand prevents it from moving relatively to the housing. The forwardportion of the burner tube 26 extends upward and outward a shortdistance past the forward end of the outside wall I and has a flexiblehose 32 leading from a suitable supply of combustible gas, such asacetylene or other fluid fuel, :attached to its end. Preferably agaseous fuel producing a blue flame is employed. As shown in Fig. 4 thehose is preferably attached to the handle 24 which may be of wood by aclamp 34 in order to support it and prevent it from becoming loosened orpulled away from the end of the metal burner-tube. A small amount ofslack hose should be provided between clamp 34 and the burner tube 26 inorder to prevent the hose from being pulled away from the tube duringangular adjustment of the handle and the handle support on bolt I I.

Instead of obtaining the gas or other fuel for the burner from a more orless remote source, a supply of fuel may be carried on the apparatusitself as shown in Fig. 5. In this modification the gas is confinedunder pressure in a suitable cylinder or other container 36 attached tothe handle 24 of the device by bands 31. Flexible hose 32, leading fromthe end of metal burner tube 26, is attached to a suitable outlet 38 onthe container, a stop cook 40 or other valve being provided forcontrolling the quantity of gas passing from the container.

The operation of the apparatus is as follows:

The gas is turned on and the burner between the walls of the housinglighted and adjusted to produce a blue flame of the desired size. Anoperator 45 then grasps the device by the handle and inserts the housingin operating position .between the overlapping edges of two adjacentsheets of roofing 41 and 49 laidon a roof, floor,

or other surface 50. As shown in Figs. 3 and 4,

the straight bottom edges l4 and I5 rest on the surface of the lowersheet 41 while the curved and bevelled upper edges I8 and I9 support themarginal portion of the overlying sheet 49. The edge of the overlyingroofing sheet preferably extends a short distance beyond the edge ofoutside wall 1 but not a sufiicient distance to touch or interfere withthe burner tube or the handle of the apparatus.

The operator then slowly walks along the seam and pushes the lap-sealingdevice before him thus causing the housing to move along the seambetween the edges of the overlapping sheets causing the overlying sheetto be elevated above the underlying sheet as shown in Fig. 4. Heat fromthe gas flame softens or melts the bituminous coating on the upper sideof the underlying sheet 41 and on the under side of the overlying sheet49 and causes the coating material to become cementitious. The walls ofthe housing confine the heat of the flame to approximately the width ofthe lap joint desired thus concentrating the heat and making theoperation of the device rapid and readily controlled.

As the housing is continuously and progressively moved along the seam,the softened edge portion of the upper sheet slides down the taperedupper edges of the housing walls, which are especially designed for thispurpose, and is again brought into contact with the lower sheet. Theoperator walking behind the housing, steps on the heated andcementitious overlapped por tions of the sheets and causes the coatingmaterial thereon to unite or bond and form a. continuous joint. Sincethe soft coating on the edge portions of the sheets quickly cools andhardens, a durable bond is almost instantly obtained.

After joining two adjacent overlapping sheets in this manner the housingis placed between another pair of overlapping sheets and the sealingprocess carried out in the manner hereinabove described.

It will be noted that the apparatus of this invention is simple anddurable in construction and can be operated even by unskilled workmen.This device permits the edge portions of lapping sheets of preparedroofing to be sealed or cemented together in a much cleaner and moreeflicient manner than has heretofore been possible. The lap-sealingapparatus also permits a substantial economy to be effected since verythan those formed by methods heretofore in use.-

If desired, guides may be provided projecting outward and upward fromthe outside wall or may be attached to the handle to engage the edge ofthe overlying roofing sheet and cause the apparatus to maintain theproper relative position with respect to the lap.

The device may be provided with a roller positioned in back of thehousing so that it will pass over the heated lap and press thecementitious overlapping sheets firmly together.

The procedure herein described may be employed to secure overlapping andunderlapping portions of mastic sheets made from bituminous or othermixes which upon being heated become cementitious as well as any othersheet material which when subjected to heat becomes sticky.

In connection with the above description and illustration of theconstruction and operation of this invention, it should be understoodthat these are merely for the purpose of clarifying an understandingthereof. Various modifications of the forms and arrangements of theparts and of the procedure herein described may be made withoutdeparting from this invention.

We claim:

1. A device for uniting overlapped edges of sheet material comprising ahousing adapted to be moved between the overlapping edges of the sheetmaterial, means within the housing for supplying heat thereto, andoperating means attached to the housing and extending therefromoutwardly and upwardly from between the overlapping edges of the sheets.

2. A device for joining overlapping edge portions of adjacent sheetscomprising a shoe-shaped housing, said housing rising abruptly at thefront end and tapering gradually toward the rear end thereof, meanswithin said housing for supplying heat thereto, and a handle attached tosaid housing for operating the same, said handle extending outwardly andupwardly from between the overlapping edges of the sheets.

3. A device for joining overlapped sheets comprising a housing adaptedto be moved between the overlapped sheets, said housing being adapted tosupport the overlapping sheet at a plurality of points in inclinedrelation to the underlapping sheet, and means within said housing forsupplying heat thereto.

4. A device for sealing together overlapped marginal portions ofadjacent sheets, comprising a housing having two side walls, said wallsbeing separated from each other a distance approximately equal to thewidth of the overlapped portions of the sheets, and a fuel burnerbetween said walls.

5. An apparatus for sealing together overlapping edges of adjacentsheets comprising a housing having two side walls separated from eachother by a distance approximately equal to the width of the overlappededges of the sheets and held in fixed position by a block-between saidwalls, said walls being of the same general shoe shape and each adifferent size, a fuel burner attached to the block between the walls,and a handle connected to the larger wall.

6. A lap sealing apparatus comprising a housing having two parallel sidewalls defined by .7

straight bottom edges and curved top edges, a block between said walls,fastening means passing through the walls and the block to hold thewalls and block in fixed position, and a gas torch between said wallsfor supplying heat to the housing.

7. A device for uniting overlapping edges of adjacent sheets of bitumencoated sheet roofing comprising a housing having spaced parallelvertical side walls similar to each other in shape but different insize, both of said walls having straight bottom edges and curvedbevelled top edges, a gas burner between said walls adapted to heat thehousing, and a handle connected to the outside of the larger wall foroperating the housing.

8. A device for uniting overlapping edges of adjacent sheets of bitumencoated sheet roofing comprising a housing having spaced parallelvertical side walls similar to each other in shape but difierent insize, both of said walls having straight bottom edges and curvedbevelled top edges, a gas burner between said walls adapted to heat thehousing, a handle connected to the outside of the larger wall foroperating the housing, and a gas container carried by said handle forsupplying gas to the burner.

9. The method of joining edge portions of sheet material which upon theapplication of heat thereto become cementitious, which comprisesassembling sheets of said material with their edge portions inunderlapping and overlapping relation, continuously and progressivelyseparating the overlapped and underlapped portions of said sheets,supporting a section of the edge portion of the overlapping sheet ininclined elevated relation with respect to the edge of the underlappingsheet, continuously and progressively heating the separated portions,and continuously and progressively pressing the edge portion of theoverlapping sheet into engagement with the edge portion of theunderlapping sheet while another section is being heated.

10. The method of joining edge portions of sheet material which upon theapplication of heat thereto become cementitious, which comprisesassembling sheets of said material with their edge portions inoverlapping and underlapping relation, continuously and progressivelyseparating the overlapped and underlapped portions of said sheets andsupporting the separated edge portion of the overlapping sheet out ofcontact with the edge of the underlapping sheet, continuously andprogressively heating at least one of said separated portions andcontinuously and progressively pressing the portions which have beenseparated into engagement with each other while another portion of theoverlapping sheet is separated from the underlapping sheet and at leastone of the separated portions is being heated.

JOHN D. STEBBINS. FRANK W. YEAGER.

